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I was able to determine some additional information for you. The "S" logo on the rear calipers werenít omitted on your vehicle, all the 2018 S4s with the S Sport Package come equipped with 4 red calipers, and only the front calipers come with the "S" logo. Since we center the "S" logo on the front or most visible portion of the caliper, there isn't enough surface area to print another "S" logo on the rear calipers. Hopefully this helps clear things up for you, let me know if you have any further questions.

B9 S4 With different rear brake calipers?

Originally Posted by Audi USA

Hello,

I was able to determine some additional information for you. The "S" logo on the rear calipers werenít omitted on your vehicle, all the 2018 S4s with the S Sport Package come equipped with 4 red calipers, and only the front calipers come with the "S" logo. Since we center the "S" logo on the front or most visible portion of the caliper, there isn't enough surface area to print another "S" logo on the rear calipers. Hopefully this helps clear things up for you, let me know if you have any further questions.

Regards,

Can you please double check the above response. Other S4ís with the S Sport package have an ďSĒ logo in the calipers. See examples below I grabbed from cars.com. My neighbor also has an S4 with S Sport package and his rear calipers also have the ďSĒ logo.

Just so everyone is aware, 2018 S4s with the S Sport Package are supposed to come included with the S logo on the front and rear calipers. There was a malfunction at the dealership but we are in the process of ordering new parts to make the necessary adjustments. Hopefully this helps clear things up a little bit.

Correct, we would advise speaking with your local dealership. They will need to verify (based on your VIN) that your vehicle should have come equipped with the logo on the calipers and then make the necessary adjustments. Please feel free to PM me if you have any additional questions.

Correct, we would advise speaking with your local dealership. They will need to verify (based on your VIN) that your vehicle should have come equipped with the logo on the calipers and then make the necessary adjustments. Please feel free to PM me if you have any additional questions.

Can I send you my VIN to have it verified? Would like to make sure I have everything together prior to going to see my advisor.

Was anyone able to get this addressed? Same deal for me and I purchased my car after Thanksgiving and I am pretty sure it was a recent stateside arrival. My sales person says it is a factory issue and has a ping out to his Audi rep but he hasn't heard back. I bought my car out of state so I'm limited to phone and email communication. I'll send my VIN to Audi USA for good measure. Such a strange issue....I actually found this thread after I noticed it on my car and did a Google image search to see what it was supposed to look like. The first result that looked like mine brought me here!

Was anyone able to get this addressed? Same deal for me and I purchased my car after Thanksgiving and I am pretty sure it was a recent stateside arrival. My sales person says it is a factory issue and has a ping out to his Audi rep but he hasn't heard back. I bought my car out of state so I'm limited to phone and email communication. I'll send my VIN to Audi USA for good measure. Such a strange issue....I actually found this thread after I noticed it on my car and did a Google image search to see what it was supposed to look like. The first result that looked like mine brought me here!

Yes, Audi was able to rectify this issue. The dealer got the correct plates for me.

Are the covers just a plastic part that snaps into place? Anyone have part numbers for them? I'm in a bit of a difficult spot, since I am US military stationed in Germany my car is US-Spec, so I don't really have a "dealer" to work with on this. There is no difference between US and German parts though (at least for this), so if I knew what number to ask for I could see about ordering from a German dealer. I think I am probably out of luck getting these taken care of "for free." I ordered the car from Military Auto Source, so I will check with them to see if I have any options to address this, but again I think having part numbers will help.

Bumping for reply... TO: anyone who had this corrected by a dealer (or to the Audi Social Community Manager), can you please post the part numbers? I'm trying to get this worked out for a US-Spec car purchased overseas that is missing them, part numbers would be a HUGE help. Thanks!

Bumping for reply... TO: anyone who had this corrected by a dealer (or to the Audi Social Community Manager), can you please post the part numbers? I'm trying to get this worked out for a US-Spec car purchased overseas that is missing them, part numbers would be a HUGE help. Thanks!

I still haven't gotten this resolved myself but when I do I'll share the part #s if you don't beat me to it.

Has anyone actually had these installed yet? Could you post a photo? I went to the local German Audi dealer and they ordered in the rear brake dust covers, but I don't see any way to install them. So I called the Seattle Audi Dealer (4701 11th Ave. NE) thinking that they must have already dealt with this, and after talking it over with their parts consultant (a very nice and responsive guy, much impressed), the mystery deepens. He sent me the following parts diagram for the rear brakes:

However, this is a photo of my rear brakes (they look like all of yours):

The part the German Audi dealer gave me is two of the #10, which is a dust cover with the S emblem, and 2 bushings to attach it. The diagram shows 2 holes, but our brakes don't have those holes.

Moreover, if you look at our brake assembly there appears to be two bracket inserts at the top and bottom, roughly 12 centimeters apart. I had assumed those would be the attachment points for whatever this part is supposed to be.

So for those of you that have had this corrected, can you show us a picture of what it looks like? Or how it attaches? Is there another part, or did they have to drill holes into the metal? I'm quite perplexed by all this, and I'm out 77 Euros just for those stupid dust covers since they don't seem to understand or care that this is a brand new car, just because it is US-spec.

The lack of response in this Audi Customer Experience thread is disconcerting. Does ANYONE have the correct 'S' brake covers on their rear calipers? If so, can you please post a quick photo of it? How was this issue corrected?

Is there a manufacturing problem with these? Why are most missing them? Why isn't this being addressed? The Audi parts department from a dealer has been unable to respond with more than a "we're looking into it." Frustration growing.

Has anyone actually had these installed yet? Could you post a photo? I went to the local German Audi dealer and they ordered in the rear brake dust covers, but I don't see any way to install them. So I called the Seattle Audi Dealer (4701 11th Ave. NE) thinking that they must have already dealt with this, and after talking it over with their parts consultant (a very nice and responsive guy, much impressed), the mystery deepens. He sent me the following parts diagram for the rear brakes:

However, this is a photo of my rear brakes (they look like all of yours):

The part the German Audi dealer gave me is two of the #10, which is a dust cover with the S emblem, and 2 bushings to attach it. The diagram shows 2 holes, but our brakes don't have those holes.

Moreover, if you look at our brake assembly there appears to be two bracket inserts at the top and bottom, roughly 12 centimeters apart. I had assumed those would be the attachment points for whatever this part is supposed to be.

So for those of you that have had this corrected, can you show us a picture of what it looks like? Or how it attaches? Is there another part, or did they have to drill holes into the metal? I'm quite perplexed by all this, and I'm out 77 Euros just for those stupid dust covers since they don't seem to understand or care that this is a brand new car, just because it is US-spec.

Originally Posted by dbuxton13

The lack of response in this Audi Customer Experience thread is disconcerting. Does ANYONE have the correct 'S' brake covers on their rear calipers? If so, can you please post a quick photo of it? How was this issue corrected?

Is there a manufacturing problem with these? Why are most missing them? Why isn't this being addressed? The Audi parts department from a dealer has been unable to respond with more than a "we're looking into it." Frustration growing.

Thank you for providing the diagram with the correct parts that are missing. I'm trying to gather as much information as I can before I go to the dealer.

The strange this is that I've yet to come across a S5/S5 Sportback that have had theirs missing but I have seen many S4's with them not installed.

I'm a little worried it wont be a simple retrofit. Its a little unsettling to see in the diagram that the plate is affixed into holes in the calipers which we clearly don't have. Hoping someone with the plate in place submits a close up so can have a better understanding of what's going on.

I've been watching this with interest as I'm currently going through the process to get the S covers for my car, purchased in late November. My dealer has verified that the S covers should have come on the car and ordered the parts.(4 weeks ago) I was told the parts had arrived and they were supposed to be installed while I had the car in getting some other dealer installed options added on. Got a call the day before I was supposed to pick the car up that the parts had not actually arrived, and that they were going to overnight the only pair in North America, install them and the car would be ready for pickup the next day. I check in the following morning and then was told that the other dealership had refused to release the parts. So, they're on order and supposed to arrive in another week. I'm not holding my breath.

Obviously Audi is well aware that this is a huge fuckup. I still haven't been able to ascertain whether this is a full caliper replacement, or just the covers. All I'm sure of is that there are a whole lot of S4's without the covers and that the proper parts are in very short supply.

Bumping for reply... TO: anyone who had this corrected by a dealer (or to the Audi Social Community Manager), can you please post the part numbers? I'm trying to get this worked out for a US-Spec car purchased overseas that is missing them, part numbers would be a HUGE help. Thanks!

I've been watching this with interest as I'm currently going through the process to get the S covers for my car, purchased in late November. My dealer has verified that the S covers should have come on the car and ordered the parts.(4 weeks ago) I was told the parts had arrived and they were supposed to be installed while I had the car in getting some other dealer installed options added on. Got a call the day before I was supposed to pick the car up that the parts had not actually arrived, and that they were going to overnight the only pair in North America, install them and the car would be ready for pickup the next day. I check in the following morning and then was told that the other dealership had refused to release the parts. So, they're on order and supposed to arrive in another week. I'm not holding my breath.

Obviously Audi is well aware that this is a huge fuckup. I still haven't been able to ascertain whether this is a full caliper replacement, or just the covers. All I'm sure of is that there are a whole lot of S4's without the covers and that the proper parts are in very short supply.

I talk to my dealer about this and itís not just missing covers itís a totally different rear calliper. If you ordered the dust covers they will not fit. Itís just a design change, and I confirmed with cars on their lot ...some older made S4ís had the cover and you can see different config calliper. Also even the RS3ís S5ís etc all have different rear callipers without the cover.

Seems like cars made after a certain month/week Audi Germany changed the config of rear callipers. Not much you can do about it, just a design change.

That's certainly one way to look at it, however the exposed caliper has an unfinished look, and some dealers are good-willing the correct brakes to owners that have made a case for it. Totally different responses from dealers depending on location however, with some claiming the same thing you have said, while others acknowledge the issue and have done (or are doing) something about it. Unfortunate to see this happening, but at least some recourse is available. I personally will have to wait until I ship my car back from Germany to the US this summer, as the Germans won't do anything with a US-spec car.

That's certainly one way to look at it, however the exposed caliper has an unfinished look, and some dealers are good-willing the correct brakes to owners that have made a case for it. Totally different responses from dealers depending on location however, with some claiming the same thing you have said, while others acknowledge the issue and have done (or are doing) something about it. Unfortunate to see this happening, but at least some recourse is available. I personally will have to wait until I ship my car back from Germany to the US this summer, as the Germans won't do anything with a US-spec car.

If they do change for them then thatís great as long as the dealer doesnít think itís just a dust cover.

I just canít see the dealer replacing both rear callipers for looks as Iím sure they cost would be $2000 easily or more plus labor and would come out of their pockets / profit.

The only way it being changed is if itís a mistake by Audi Germany which I highly doubt, because Iíve seen other ďSĒ ďRSĒ models on lot with these rear callipers (no dust cover design).

This would be like people who have the first run S4s that donít have the darken tail lights like the later in year built S4s etc.

If you can live with this, then I am happy for you, but this is nothing like the slight tint change in tail lights. In a forum like this, where most owners tend to be very attention-to-detail-oriented and image-conscious of every square inch of their car, I'm surprised to hear anyone defending what is likely an attempt by Audi to cut cost at customer expense. They probably just hoped we wouldn't notice, but we're calling them out on it.

The difference between the left and right images is striking and, quite frankly, the left side looks like garbage.

Furthermore, as I said some owners have already had this correction made by the dealer, as shown from this post in the B9 S4 owners group (name blanked):

If you can live with this, then I am happy for you, but this is nothing like the slight tint change in tail lights. In a forum like this, where most owners tend to be very attention-to-detail-oriented and image-conscious of every square inch of their car, I'm surprised to hear anyone defending what is likely an attempt by Audi to cut cost at customer expense. They probably just hoped we wouldn't notice, but we're calling them out on it.

The difference between the left and right images is striking and, quite frankly, the left side looks like garbage.

Furthermore, as I said some owners have already had this correction made by the dealer, as shown from this post in the B9 S4 owners group (name blanked):

Iím not defending Audi lol ...just said if itís a design change then nothing you can do about it.

Thatís absolutely awesome if a dealer admitted thatís the wrong rear callipers and replaced but Iím sure for all of them to be changed (and there is a lot of S and RS models with this rear calliper) Audi Germany would have to admit or have a service letter stating they put wrong callipers on rear. Trust me I would love to have mine swapped out with the ones with dust covers, but unless Audi Germany admits it most of us are stuck with this style.

Please if anyone has a official letter from Audi stating otherwise I would love to see it.

As stated the covers have arrived to the dealer and didnít fit my car. It would seem the entire caliper needs to be replaced but Iím not sure yet if my dealer will go for that. I have to call and see what they can do about it.

I am one of the lucky ones who have front and rear S logo on the calipers. I can certainly understand the disheartening feeling of not having the correct rear calipers with S badge.
Hope you are able to get it sorted out although I have a feeling you are stuck.

I think its pretty obvious that Audi made a design change removing these plates and the associated caliper part number that included the mounting holes.

Audi had previously never installed plates over their cast rear calipers. Since the change appears across the board including other S models, I would wager that the addition of a trim plate over the pads in this fashion probably exhibited some unintended issue whether it was from falling off, trapping moisture or debris, etc and the alteration was less about "cutting costs" than preventing whatever issue cropped up.

Also, simply removing the cover plate would expose those mounting holes, so it makes sense they would roll the part number on the caliper castings to make them flush.

I think its pretty obvious that Audi made a design change removing these plates and the associated caliper part number that included the mounting holes.

Audi had previously never installed plates over their cast rear calipers. Since the change appears across the board including other S models, I would wager that the addition of a trim plate over the pads in this fashion probably exhibited some unintended issue whether it was from falling off, trapping moisture or debris, etc and the alteration was less about "cutting costs" than preventing whatever issue cropped up.

Also, simply removing the cover plate would expose those mounting holes, so it makes sense they would roll the part number on the caliper castings to make them flush.

I have yet to see an S5 or S5 sportback change to this new style of rear caliper. As far I can tell they are still using the same caliper they have from the beginning. What I do find interesting is that the A4 has a Black Optics package which includes red calipers. The A5 and S5 do not have a Black Optics package yet. I'm thinking S4's started to use the same red calipers as the ones from the A4's Black Optics package. I think this was done as a cost saving measure. I do not have the part number for the rear calipers of the A4 vs S4 to verify this though. The rotors are certainly different in sizes but I'm not sure if the calipers themselves are physically different.

The questions remains if they are different part numbers then why would they go to this new design? Your theory of a design change doesn't really hold water considering the S5 and S5 Sportback still use the original design. I would wager its a cost saving one and a rather irritating one at that.

I think its pretty obvious that Audi made a design change removing these plates and the associated caliper part number that included the mounting holes.

Audi had previously never installed plates over their cast rear calipers. Since the change appears across the board including other S models, I would wager that the addition of a trim plate over the pads in this fashion probably exhibited some unintended issue whether it was from falling off, trapping moisture or debris, etc and the alteration was less about "cutting costs" than preventing whatever issue cropped up.

Also, simply removing the cover plate would expose those mounting holes, so it makes sense they would roll the part number on the caliper castings to make them flush.

That is a great deal of speculation and supposition with nothing to support it. Awaiting responses from official sources.

Was at a local Audi dealership yesterday and saw a grey 2018 SQ5 with black calipers, the fronts had the S logo, nothing on the rears. A 2nd SQ5, Matador Red, also a 2018, but with red calipers, had the S logo on front and rear.
I have a 2017 SQ5, white with red calipers and both front and rear have the full SQ5 logo...

Read about the specifications of rear calipers in the user manuals of your car. It clearly mentions all the symbols etc.And if you lost the user manual of your car, you could get it easily from manuals.co who provide manuals for all kinds of car models.